Kremlin aide says Putin rejects Kyoto protocol

A Kremlin economic adviser said today he was speaking for President Vladimir Putin when he rejected the Kyoto environmental pact this week, adding that the deputy economy minister who contradicted him was mistaken.

"The statement was made physically by me, but the words I was using were those of the Russian president," Andrei Illarionov told reporters.

Illarionov said on Tuesday Russia would not approve the pact in its current form, but Mukhamed Tsikhanov, deputy economy minister responsible for Kyoto, said yesterday Russia was moving towards ratification.

Asked why there appeared to be differences between the two, Illarionov said: "There are no differences. The deputy economy minister is mistaken. He is mistaken in his timing. What he said was the position of the Russian Federation in August."

The United Nations, hosting a climate conference of 180 countries in Milan, has expressed confidence Russia will ratify in the end despite the "mixed signals".

Moscow's government previously said it would ratify the pact.

The fate of the protocol, which aims to cut emissions of the gases that cause global warming, has been in Russia's hands since Washington pulled out of the pact in 2001.

It can only come into force if countries responsible for 55 per cent of developed nations' emissions approve it, meaning Russia - which emits 17 per cent of greenhouse gases - has the casting vote.

Countries accounting for 44 per cent of emissions have so far signed up. It hinges on Russia because the United States, the world's top polluter, has withdrawn its 36 per cent.

Most analysts say Russia stands to gain from the pact because its industry has collapsed since 1990, when emission levels were set, and it has large spare capacity to trade.